Tuesday, September 13, 2011

2011 Meet the Misses v.1 - Miss World Danmark 2011

Denmark is a Scandinavian country located in Northern Europe. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries. The country consists of a large peninsula, Jutland, and the Danish archipelago. This nation, along with Greenland and the Faroe Islands form the Kingdom of Denmark. Denmark has the world's highest rate of income equality and has the best business climate in the planet. It is also one of the most peaceful countries on Earth. The nation is relatively flat with an average elevation of 31 meters above sea level. Historically, Denmark has taken a progressive stance on environmental preservation and was the first country in the world to implement an environmental law. Its capital, Copenhagen, is ranked as one of the cities with the best quality of life, and has a stunning and unique architecture. In Miss World, Denmark debuted in 1951 and produced two first runners-up in 1957 and 1986. This year the nation will be represented by the stunning and eloquent Maya Celeste Padillo Olesen who was crowned Miss World Danmark 2011 on August 20.

The Times of Beauty proudly presents Maya Celeste Padillo Olesen, Miss World Danmark 2011, in an exclusive interview for our interview series, Meet the Misses.

1. Give us an introduction of yourself.
My name is Maya Celeste Padillo Olesen. I am a young woman who just turned 20, the 24th of August. I was conceived in Nepal, born in the Philippines and raised in Denmark. My mother is from the Philippines and my father is from Denmark, which makes me a rich product of what is good in both the European and Asian life and cultures.

I have 2 older sisters and one younger brother and only 2 years separating our age from each other. My cousin, the son of my father’s sister who lost his mother, has been living with us since he was six years old and is made part of our big and happy family of 7.We support and love each other unconditionally. We have also a family pet, a cat named Bianca, who first came to us as a wild cat, finding shelter in our garage one cold winter and now Bianca has been with us for many years as part of our family. I love animals, and I especially have a weird love for monkeys. But babies also awaken in me a beautiful feeling, and I can’t wait to start my own family some- day.

I look forward to start my education as a nurse and once I am finished, I hope to travel with the organization- Doctors Without Borders, or work with other charitable organizations. I think that they are the heroes of today, risking their lives in order to save others.

I consider myself as a social, open-minded, curious young woman with great values in life. And curious as I am, I love to travel and to learn about new cultures and countries. So I am very excited to go to London to represent my country, Denmark at such a prestigious event as Miss World!

2. Tell us a bit more about your country and hometown.
I'm proud to say that I come from Denmark, a small but very beautiful and unique country with societal systems that work for solidarity and equality for all. We have good social services that support the weak and the marginalized, services which I hope can be copied by other countries to benefit their own citizens. We have The Royal Family we highly respect and we raise our Danish flag when we celebrate special events and anniversaries. The Danish population is estimated to be around 5,5 million inhabitants, a mixture of ethnic Danes and immigrants. Denmark is also a country with great history. The Vikings, especially, have put Denmark on the world map, a robust country, capable to explore and try new borders, even capable to make mistakes. But it is a country with constant development with its wind mills and search for preserving and protecting our natural environment. We also are very proud of the Danish writer, Hans Christian Andersen, who is known for his fairy tales read in many parts in the world and which all Danish children have grown up with. We rejoice watching football and our players make a name for our country. We are proud of our queen, princes and princesses. We uphold democracy and work to safeguard the human rights of all. I am more than proud and honored to be representing my wonderful country, DENMARK!

My hometown:
My family moved from Copenhagen to a little town called Christiansfeld 10 years ago. At first I was against it, but it turned out to be the right choice, I love this little community where everybody knows and takes care of each other. It is a town where everything looks idyllic, with tall trees standing parallel towards each other down the streets, fresh air and comfortable surroundings. It is a town known for its ginger bread /honey cakes. It is a small town but attracts many tourists throughout the year for its rich history left behind by a unique local church. I would love my own children to be raised in the same kind of environment.

3. What does it mean to you to represent your country at the 61st Miss World finals?
I am so proud of being able to represent my country, I have been dreaming about it for so long that I still can't believe it's happening! I hope that my participation in Miss World will be able to build awareness of issues and problems like hunger and diseases like cancer. I have seen how the poor people live and it is my dream that the world will one day work out to wipe out poverty, that everyone will have the chance to live with dignity, that is, to have food and shelter, education and support for health. Miss World Contests should not be only open to beauty and luxury but also should open doors to love and compassion for the most needy, the poor.

It is not nice to be sick but disease is part of our life and in our world. It is one of the problems that we must give attention to. Cancer continues to be a malignant disease, bringing so much sorrow to many individuals and families. This problem is very close to my heart because my mother has been a breast cancer patient. My auntie died of bone cancer. And my uncle died of brain cancer. Cancer organizations mean a lot to me, and I hope that my participation will draw more attention to this problem within the competition.

For me, to join in this contest is to bring forth these concerns from my heart: the dream to fight against poverty and the dream to give compassion and hope to the cancer patients and their families.

4. If you have to choose a song to describe yourself, which would you choose and why?
I don’t believe that there’s a song which describes all about me and how I feel. When I won the national Miss World Denmark competition, I felt like singing the song: World’s Greatest. I felt very much privileged. I am not a very confident woman. I think it was a shock for me to learn that I won. But I was very happy and honored!

Otherwise, I like Christina Aguilar’s song Beautiful. It is telling me that I am beautiful and words cannot bring me down. I must believe in myself, no matter what other people say, I must say to myself that in my own way I am a beautiful girl. And this is something I can tell to all who may have struggled with their identity, those who are shy and those who think they are not beautiful and of less value. The songs inspire us so much to look at ourselves and see our value as human persons with our own unique beauty and talents.

5. How would you describe a typical day in your life?
It’s hard to describe a typical day in my life, because I think that each day varies. But each day almost starts out the same, I wake up, and sometimes I start the day running, I think that it is important to keep yourself going and healthy. I have my usual morning ritual, brushing my teeth, showering, protecting my skin with crème, and I never leave the house without eating breakfast – It is the foundation for a good day. I spend time before computer, listening to music or writing to friends on facebook or watching a good film. I sometimes help my young cousin who is now 11 years old with his school assignments, taking care of my cat or helping my mother in the kitchen.

6. Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
I see myself being married to a man with great values and having a good number of children with him. By that time, I should be able to see myself working as a registered nurse, and getting chances to travel around the world, not only to see and learn about new cultures but also to help families and children who are less fortunate. To give time for my own growing children and actively support to raise funds for charitable organizations which are fighting against poverty and cancer. I also hope that I can maintain a modeling career while doing this. I’ve been having a great passion for acting, and I hope that I, by then, have the opportunity to do so.

7. Which well known person from your country you most admire and why?
I admire the Danish model and photographer, Helena Christensen. She is not only a beautiful and successful model, but she is also engaged in charity, particularly for children under harsh conditions. One of her causes is giving a better life for children in Chernobyl who are still affected by the large nuclear accident back in 1986. She has been giving a lot of donations to the Chernobyl Children’s Project International, which gives the children medicine and money for vital operations.
I think she is a beautiful woman and a fantastic role model.

8. If you had to choose any other country to live in, which one would you choose and why?
I would choose the Philippines, which is my mother’s home country. I was born there and left when I was three years old and my last visit with my family was when I was six years old. And I have never visited it again because it is expensive to travel, but I would love to go back some day and be closer to my other half of the family. Family is a very important factor in my life.

9. After the Sendai Earthquake, nuclear energy has become a focus of attention. Are you in favor or against the use of this kind of energy as a way to reduce the dependence on oil?
I am against radioactive energy. Although this form of energy can generate much energy, and is less polluting against nature, there's just a major risk for it to go wrong and is able to bring great hazards to people and the environment. Over the years, we have already seen several situations where it went wrong like what happened with the Chernobyl accident and the Sendai earthquake. It's not just people who are around the accident area who suffer. Such an incident has implications for nature, and for several generations after the accident. Nuclear power also has a degradation time of about 100 years, and it requires a lot of resources. There are other opportunities for renewable energy which does not cost much or pollute. Energy like bio-energy, sun energy, and wave- and hydropower.

10. What do you think is the worst kind of human injustice or prejudice happening now?
The worst kind of prejudice is the assumption that all Muslims are terrorists. Especially after September 11, after the attack of the World Trade Center the tone of animosity against Muslims has been very tough.

The worst kind of human injustice, I see, is the great gap between the rich and the poor. While others live in abundance, others are hungry. I cannot stand the photos of children, looking so bony and emaciated because of lack and absence of food. It is very unjust. We also have divided the world by calling the world of the less advanced or poor countries as belonging to the Third World and those highly developed as the First World. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer and the gap is getting greater.

11. What are your duties as Miss World Denmark?
My duty as Miss World Denmark is to bring Denmark to world attention, to share what it has to offer to the world. I find it my duty to spread its friendship and goodwill to everyone, its work for justice and peace and hopefully by this, I do help in bringing Denmark on the world map. It is my duty to show to other nations what qualities Denmark has to offer, while soliciting attention to the concerns close to my heart: poverty and diseases like cancer.

12. What role can social media (ex. Facebook, Twitter, etc) play in the life of a beauty pageant titleholder?
Social media has a role to play in the life of a pageant titleholder. It is a great media to transmit messages in a fast and efficient manner. I can get my message across the globe and receive responses and inspiration and still be an inspiration to others. People are able to follow my daily life and are able to take part of it. It also helps me to know some events and happenings that possibly need my attention and solidarity. I can contact friends and family as quickly as possible and update
them on my situation - This will be very useful under the Miss World pageant in London. I know
we have a timetable to be complied with when I'm away, and therefore I will not be in a position to give all of them an update but with a click of my fingers, one information I make can be made available to many of them within my social network.

13. What does it mean to be a human being?
To be a human being is to make mistakes, but also to learn from one’s mistakes. To be a human being is to show compassion and to love.

14. What do you feel is your purpose in life?
I believe it is to spread the message of Gods’ love and mercy by helping people and those in need whether among people, plants or animals.

15. Share a message to your supporters and readers of The Times of Beauty.
Remember that physical beauty is only skin deep and transient while real beauty lies in making life beautiful for us and for others.

and finally...Personal Motto: Be the change you wish to see in the world.Personal Goal: To be successful in life is by fulfilling part of my conceived purpose in life and experience the world and learn from it as much as possible.Personal Dream Destination: My dream destination is to the Azores Islands. It is an indescribably beautiful and untouched nature. Not yet been taken over by mass tourism. It is beautiful to experience something natural and original.Favorite Food: I love Italian food. But I love food in general!! And I love to experiment and try new food.Favorite Color: I love colorful colors which compliment my skin tone, colors such as green, purple, red, yellow and orange.Favorite Song: I have a lot of favorite songs, the problem when I love a song is that I keep pressing the repeat button and driving all around me crazy. I love Michael Jacksons “Man in the Mirror” and “You Are Not Alone”. And basically, all acoustic songs!Favorite Movie: I love, love movies so I must surrender to The Notebook. One of the best love movies ever – A Guideline on how all Women Want to be Loved and Enchanted.Favorite Book: I love authentic books, and right now I am reading “Under a Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini, the author of “The Kite Runner”. A book that gives us an insight into the situation of women in Afghanistan under a patriarchal society.Favorite Singer/Band: I have a deep passion for music. I enjoy listening to almost any genres. And I love to find undiscovered artists on Youtube. Right now I am obsessed with Adele. She has such a wonderful voice and her songs really reach out to people who have been broken hearted. But also artists such as: Sara Bareilles, Beyonce and Michael Jackson are absolutely wonderful!Favorite Actor/Actress: I have many favorite actors, since I have a tendency to fall in love with the characters. But I really love Jessica Alba and Natalie Portman. They are so beautiful and charming.Favorite Hobby: I love to express myself artistically through singing, dancing and playing piano.Favorite Sport: I love watching figure skating. They move so beautifully and gracefully to the music. But I’ve never seen it live. But sports, which I have seen live and I enjoy seeing while hanging on with friends, is soccer on a sunny day, or ice hockey.

SPECIAL THANKS

Lisa Lents, National Director of Miss World in DenmarkMaya Celeste Padillo Olesen, Miss World Danmark 2011

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